Inhalant use among incarcerated adolescents in the United States: prevalence, characteristics, and correlates of use.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To characterize patterns and correlates of inhalant use among incarcerated
youth. METHOD: Residents (N=723) of 27 Missouri Division of Youth Services facilities
completed interviews assessing substance use, psychiatric symptoms, antisocial traits,
trauma, suicidality, and criminality. RESULTS: Participants averaged 15.5 (S.D.=1.2)
years of age, were ethnically diverse, and predominantly male. More than one-third
(36.9%) reported lifetime inhalant use; 47.9% of users had tried four or more inhalant
products. Comparatively high rates of use were observed for Hispanic and small town/rural
youth. Commonly abused agents included gasoline (22%), permanent markers (15%), computer
"air duster," (15%) and spray paint (12%). Inhalant users evidenced significantly
higher levels of criminal behavior, antisocial attitudes, current psychiatric symptoms,
earlier onset of offending and substance use, and more extensive histories of head
injury, kidney disease, hormonal problems, mental illness, suicidality, trauma, and
substance-related problems than nonusers. In multiple logistic regression models,
race/ethnicity, geographic area of residence, fearlessness, suicidality, and polydrug
use distinguished inhalant users and nonusers. Measures of cognitive impairment, impulsivity,
fearlessness, blame externalization, polydrug use, and substance-related problems
were positively associated with lifetime frequency of inhalant use. CONCLUSIONS: Inhalant
use was widespread in this sample and associated with serious physical and mental
health impairments.
Type
Journal articleSubject
HumansSubstance-Related Disorders
Solvents
Risk Assessment
Regression Analysis
Suicide
Suicide, Attempted
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Juvenile Delinquency
Adolescent
Adult
Child
Prisoners
United States
Female
Male
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/20044Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.08.023Publication Info
Howard, Matthew O; Balster, Robert L; Cottler, Linda B; Wu, Li-Tzy; & Vaughn, Michael
G (2008). Inhalant use among incarcerated adolescents in the United States: prevalence, characteristics,
and correlates of use. Drug and alcohol dependence, 93(3). pp. 197-209. 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.08.023. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/20044.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Li-Tzy Wu
Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Education/Training: Pre- and post-doctoral training in mental health service research,
psychiatric epidemiology (NIMH T32), and addiction epidemiology (NIDA T32) from Johns
Hopkins University School of Public Health (Maryland); Fellow of the NIH Summer Institute
on the Design and Conduct of Randomized Clinical Trials.Director: Duke Community Based
Substance Use Disorder Research Program.Research interests: COVID-19, Opioid misuse,
Opioid overdose, Opioid use disorder

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